Name: Mediterranean Grilled Tuna Steaks
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 Yellowfin tuna steaks (about 3/4- 1 inch thick); 1/2 cup Olive oil; 4 cloves garlic (finely minced); 1 Lemon (juiced); 1 tsp Kosher salt; 1/4 tsp Black pepper; lemon wedge (for garnish); 30 ounces Canned cannellini beans (rinsed and drained); 1 cup Tomatoes (quartered); 1/2 cup Red onion (thin sliced); 1/4 cup Olive oil; 1/2 Lemon (juiced); 1/2 tsp Kosher salt (plus more to taste); 1/4 tsp Garlic (finely minced); 1/4 tsp Black pepper; large leaf lettuce (optional)

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If you love Mediterranean flavors and easy meals, you are going to love these Mediterranean grilled tuna steaks. These grilled tuna steaks are marinated in garlic, olive oil, and lemon which give the tuna steaks so much flavor. To add to the amazing flavor of these tuna steaks, they are served with the most delicious Mediterranean bean salad.

I love easy recipes that are healthy and taste amazing and that is exactly what these Mediterranean grilled tuna steaks are all about. These yellowfin tuna steaks pick up the bold flavors from the garlic, olive oil, and lemon.

This is a favorite combination of mine and I use it in my Mediterranean chicken skewers and as my basic Italian chicken marinade. The easy Mediterranean bean salad it is served with just rounds it out beautifully.

Another great thing about grilling tuna steaks is it does not need a lot of time to cook. You will only need a few minutes for each side.

Ingredients Needed

There are not many ingredients you need to make this delicious grilled yellowfin tuna. Most of the ingredients are for the Mediterranean salad that goes with it.

Here is what you will need:

Tuna steak

Yellowfin tuna steaks. You can also use ahi tuna steaks for this recipe. Just make sure to buy the freshest tuna steaks you can find.
Olive oil. The olive oil is for the marinade in the tuna and it is a classic Mediterranean flavor.
Fresh garlic. The fresh garlic really adds a wonderful flavor to the marinade.
Lemon juice. This is part of the marinade for the tuna. You can use fresh lemons or bottled.
Kosher salt. If you do not have kosher salt, you can use regular table salt but make sure to half the amount in the recipe below.
Pepper. I prefer fresh ground black pepper since it adds so much more flavor.
Fresh lettuce for plating. This is totally optional but I love placing large fresh lettuce leaves on a serving platter and then topping it with the bean salad and tuna.

For the Mediterranean Bean Salad:

Red onion. This adds a bit of heat to each bite of the salad and so much flavor.
Olive oil. Here is where I prefer to use extra virgin olive oil since you are really going to taste the flavors.
Fresh tomatoes. This is the fresh portion of the salad and it pairs really well with the tuna.
Cannellini beans. Tuna and beans go so well together.
Lemon. This will add some brightness to the salad.
Kosher salt and pepper.

Now for me, the bean salad is so good with this Mediterranean tuna. I always serve them together. If you are always looking for ideas of what to serve with tuna, then I would recommend trying this out.

If you would prefer to just make the grilled tuna steaks, it will still be delicious. I sometimes even use it to make a no mayo tuna pasta salad.

How to make Mediterranean grilled tuna steaks

Making these grilled yellowfin tuna steaks could not be any easier. Here is what it looks like:

marinating tuna — 1. Marinate the tuna steaks.

The first thing you want to do is start marinating the tuna steaks in garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. It only takes 30 minutes.

While the tuna is marinating, you can make the Mediterranean bean salad. This is really easy and it is just draining the canned beans and prepping the tomatoes and onions.

The bean salad gets a light garlic, olive oil-lemon dressing added to it and it has time to absorb all those flavors while you are cooking the tuna.

grilling tuna — 3. Grill the tuna steaks.

cooking yellowfin tuna — 4. Flip and grill the second side.

Once you are ready to grill the tuna steaks, it takes just minutes to make. Tuna does not need a lot of time to cook which makes it an amazing dish to prepare even on those busy evenings.

I like to cook the tuna steaks for about 3-4 minutes per side for ¾ inch thick tuna steaks. This gives me a nice cooked outside and pink inside which is what you want when cooking tuna steak.

Pro-Tip: You can marinate these tuna steaks up to an hour ahead of time. Just make sure not to marinate any longer because the lemon juice will cook the tuna.

Variations

I love making these tuna steaks on the grill or on the grill pan. Tuna cooks very quickly so it cooks up quite fast on both.

If you would prefer to sear the tuna steak in a hot sauté pan, that will work too. There is nothing that changes with the recipe other than you will not have grill marks 🙂 I do this with my Mediterranean baked salmon.

Pairing Ideas

This grilled yellowfin tuna is so delicious on its own but if you want some more ideas of what to serve with it, here are our favorites:

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Print Recipe

5 from 26 votes

Mediterranean Grilled Tuna Steaks

These easy and big on flavor grilled tuna steaks make the perfect quick meal that everyone will love.

Prep Time30

Cook Time10

Total Time40

Servings: tuna steaks

Author: Melissa Oleary

Equipment

1 grill or grill pan

Ingredients

Grilled Tuna Steak

2 Yellowfin tuna steaks about ¾- 1 inch thick
½ cup Olive oil
4 cloves garlic finely minced
1 Lemon juiced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon Black pepper
lemon wedge for garnish

Mediterranean Bean Salad

30 ounces Canned cannellini beans rinsed and drained
1 cup Tomatoes quartered
½ cup Red onion thin sliced
¼ cup Olive oil
½ Lemon juiced
½ teaspoon Kosher salt plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon Garlic finely minced
¼ teaspoon Black pepper
large leaf lettuce optional

Instructions

Marinating the tuna steaks

Add garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper to a large ziploc bag and mix well.
2 Yellowfin tuna steaks, ½ cup Olive oil, 4 cloves garlic, 1 Lemon, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
Add tuna steaks to bag then seal making sure to rub the mixture all over the tuna.
Place in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to one hour.

Making the bean salad

Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl.
30 ounces Canned cannellini beans, 1 cup Tomatoes, ½ cup Red onion, ¼ cup Olive oil, ½ Lemon, ½ teaspoon Kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon Garlic, ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
Toss together gently then set aside on the counter.

For outdoor grill

Brush grill grates with a little olive oil or vegetable oil.
Pre-heat grill over medium heat for 10 minutes. Make sure to keep one side of the grill free of charcoal or flames (heat just one side of your grill.)
Once pre-heated, add the tuna steaks to the grill making sure to add it to the side that is not over a flame.
Cook for 3 minutes per side.
Remove from heat and cover with aluminum foil.

For grill pan

Brush grill pan with a little olive oil or vegetable oil.
Pre-heat grill pan over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Place tuna steaks on grill pan and cook for 3 minutes per side.
Once cooked, remove from heat and cover with aluminum foil.

To plate

On a large platter, add the lettuce, then beans over the top.
large leaf lettuce
Now gently place the tuna steaks over the beans and squeeze a lemon wedge over the top.
lemon wedge
Serve immediately.

Video

Nutrition